President Joe Biden visited the 2024 presidential battleground state of Wisconsin on Friday for a highly-anticipated campaign rally and a key interview with ABC News that could be crucial to his candidacy and presidency.
At a key event aimed at reassuring the state’s Democrats that he is fit for the job after a struggling debate last week, Biden spoke energetically about the policies his administration has implemented and the risks posed if Trump becomes president again.
Biden also stood firm when it came to concerns about his eligibility to run and his ability to do the job.
“You know we had a little debate last week,” Biden joked. “I wouldn’t say it was my best performance. But since then, there’s been a lot of speculation: What is Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the campaign? Is he going to pull out? What is he going to do?”
“Well, here’s my answer: I’m going to run and I’m going to win again,” he said.
President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, on July 5, 2024.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Biden’s voice boomed throughout Madison Middle School as he spoke to a friendly audience, who often cheered, “Four more years!”
Though Friday’s speech, aided by a teleprompter, was strong, especially compared with last week’s debate, the 81-year-old Trump’s stumbles have put him under intense scrutiny of his ability to provide leadership in another presidential term.
Biden was met by a large crowd outside a campaign event, some of whom called on him to step aside. “To protect your legacy, please stand back,” read one sign in the crowd.
“Let me be very clear: I’m continuing my campaign,” Biden said at the rally. “I’m going to beat Donald Trump.”
The week after the debate is one of the most important for President Biden, and many Democratic Party officials will continue to keep a close eye on him over the holidays.
Biden has been under increasing pressure to publicly attest to his mental and physical health by answering questions and making unscripted remarks, and he will have a golden opportunity to do so when ABC host George Stephanopoulos speaks with Biden in Madison on Friday.
An initial excerpt will air on “World News Tonight,” followed by the full interview in a primetime special on the ABC network on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.
WATCH: ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos’ exclusive first post-debate television interview with President Joe Biden will air in its entirety on Friday, July 5 at 8pm ET as part of an ABC News primetime special.
Supporters cheer before President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at Sherman Middle School on July 5, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Molly Gash/AP
The president has also privately acknowledged that the next few days are crucial to his reelection chances, a person familiar with the matter told ABC News earlier this week. The president still sees himself as the best candidate to beat Donald Trump, but suggested to one ally that he is keeping an “open mind” about the path forward.
But publicly, the White House has rejected the idea that Biden is considering any path other than reelection, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying Thursday that Biden would “absolutely not” step down.
And California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he met with Democratic governors at the White House on Wednesday — a meeting scheduled after the debate for leaders to air concerns and hear directly from the president — and that Biden vowed to continue campaigning for the White House.
“I was really proud to be with Joe Biden last night,” Newsom, one of more than 20 Democratic governors who have met privately with Biden — both in person and virtually — while campaigning for Biden in Michigan on Thursday. “The meeting began with the first words out of his mouth, ‘We’re going to be all in.'”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, another Democrat rumored to be a potential replacement for the Democratic nominee, posted, “Joe Biden is our candidate. He is fighting to win and I support him.”
But at the same time, more than a half-dozen governors who attended the meeting expressed concerns about the president’s debate performance and the resulting repercussions within the party, two people familiar with the conversations told ABC News.
One governor made it clear to Biden that people didn’t think he was qualified to run for president, while another asked him to outline a path forward, according to people familiar with the matter.
President Joe Biden participates in the 2024 CNN presidential debate in Atlanta on June 27, 2024.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A person who attended the meeting described the conversation as “frank” and “direct”, and said the president was “engaged” and “focused”.
Meanwhile, some Democrats have publicly called for Biden to resign.
After Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas on Tuesday became the first lawmaker to publicly say Biden should drop out of the race, another House Democrat, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, said Thursday that Biden should drop out of the race.
Rep. Raul M. Grijalva of Arizona, in an interview with The New York Times, also publicly urged Biden to drop out of the race, citing the “unsettled” state of the presidential campaign, and Rep. Marie Grusenkamp Perez of Washington state told KATU she believes Biden’s performance last Thursday will lead to his defeat in the race against Trump.
But leading Democrats have aligned themselves with the president, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, a key Biden adviser who helped elect Biden in the 2020 election.
ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Molly Nagle, Isabella Murray and Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.
